Vacuum cleaner



y 1941- G. E. LOFGRE N 2,241,785

I v VACUUM CLEANER Filed Dec. 1o, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR f9 /8 AALATTO E May 13, 1941.

e. E. LOFGRE'N VACUUM CLEANER Filed Dec. 10, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

BY I (MMZM 626 7 1448 ATTOR; E

y 13, G. E. LOFGREN 2,241,785

VACUUM CLEANER v Filed Dec. 10, 1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 [2/ 7 INVENT OR.

. .W ATTozr of Fig. and

Patented May 13, 1941 UNlTED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE VACUUM CLEANER Gustaf Einar Lofgren, Riverside, Conn., assignor to Electrolux Corporation, Dover, DeL, a corporation of Delaware Application December 10, 1937, Serial No. 179,067

'1 Claims. (01. 220-55) My invention relates to' vacuum cleaners and more particularly to cleaners of the kind having a cover which must be removed from time to time to empty the dirt and dust taken up by the cleaner.

By way of example, I have hereinafter described a vacuum cleaner of the so-called inside bag type mounted on sleighs or runners but it will be seen that the invention is not limited to the preferred embodiment described. 10

ing specification and appended claims when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification,

and of which:

Fig. 1 is a side view, partly in section of a vacuum cleaner of the enclosed bag type embodythe seating position of the cover taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 10

Fig. 3 is a view, like that of Fig. 2, but showing the cover in an intermediate position in the closing operation;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the cover and withdrawn for emptying.

parts of the cleaner showing the cover in an intermediate position in the closing operation;

Fig. 5 is a back view of the cover, broken awayin part, and showing the application of the cover to the cleaner casing taken on the lines 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detailed view of the cover mechanism with a detent in retracted position;

Fig. 7 is a view of the cover mechanism with detents in closure engaging position taken on line [.5

l-l of Fig. 8;

Fig. 8 is a view taken on line 88 of Fig. 6; V Fig. 9 is a .central vertical view of the cover and part of the cleaner casing taken on line 39 Fig. 10 is a front view of the'cover in place. The vacuum cleaner includes a cleaner unit 10 comprising a casing or body member II, at

one end (front end) of which is a cover l2 and The purpose of the present in- 15 parts of unit I 0 except the cover may be considered as a cleaner or cleaner unit to which the cover is applied. Within the casing II is a dust bag or dirt trap l4 and a power unit consisting of a centrifugal fan l5 driven by an electric motor IS. A suitable handle I! is provided for carrying the cleaner unit. The cleaner unit is mounted on sleighs or runners l8 which are looped at the ends and connected to a front ring I!) and a rear ring 20.

The cover is provided with an air inlet passage M to which a hose 22 is adapted to be connected. At the free end of the hose, one may attach tube 23 in turn connected to a nozzle 24,

.or a nozzle may be connected directly to the hose.

An outlet connection 26 is provided in rear housing I 3.

In this type of vacuum cleaner, a flow of air is produced by the fan I5 as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. Dust and dirt-laden air is drawn, by means of the current of air, into the nozzle 24 and through the hose 22 into the dust separator M where the dust and dirt is trapped out. The air passes on through the fan and over or through the motor and out through outlet 26.

The dust bag I! is removably disposed in the cleaner casing. This bag may be made of fine mesh cloth. The cloth bag is attached to a dust bag ring 28, (Fig. 9) having an out-turned flange 29 over which is stretched a sealing gasket 30 having a U-shaped cross section. Gasket 30 seats. against a surface 3| on th front ring l9. When cover 12 is removed, the dust bag can be Cover I2 is held on th casing and compresses the dust bag ring gasket 30 to form an air seal as follows:

Extending outwardly from the front surface of ring I9 are lateral projections or detent re-- ceiving bosses 32. Bosses 32 are closed on their forward edges (the tops of'the bosses), may be closed on the outside edges, but are open at thev inside to provide pockets 34 for receiving detents 33. The detents 33 on entering pockets 34 engage tapered surfaces 36 (Fig. 3) to give a wedging and compressing action. Springs may be used as shown in my Patent No. 2,112,372 issued March 29, 1938. As the detents 33 Wedge against the inclined surfaces 36, the back-plate 38 of cover I! pressed against the gasket 30. Ring l9 and plate 38 may be dished as shown in Fig. 9 to definitely place gasket 30. Bosses 32 are disposed at the other end an exhaust housing l3. All the outwardly of the gasket 30.

Detents 33 are actuated by cover handle 40 in the following manner:

Handle 40 is attached to a turn block 4| pivoted inside cover |2 on pin 42 mounted'on cars 43 formed in the front casting 45 of the cover. A snap-action toggle mechanism 44 is mounted between turn block 4| and the cover casting 4.5 to hold handle 40 in extreme positions. One extreme position of the mechanism which may 'be termed closed position in which detents 33 are extended to engaging position is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6, '7, 8 and 9. The other extreme position which may be termed open position is shown in Figs. 3 and 5.

Turn block 4| carries a pin 41 which engages in slots 48 in ears 49 of a rack bar 50. Rack bar 50 is carried on a base plate 5| which is fixed with respect to the cover parts 38 and 45. Thus rack bar 50 is reciprocable as shown by the double arrow in Fig. 7 between the positions shown by Figs. 6 and 7. Bar 50 carries teeth 52 which engage pinions 53 integral with detents 33. The pinion detent members or dogs 33 and 53 are pivoted at 55 on base plate 5|.

When the cover i2 is positioned on the ring l9, it rests on the top surfaces 51 of bosses 32. Surfaces 51 curve upwardly from the forward edges of the bosses 32 to flat surfaces adjacent the ring Hi. It will be seen by reference to Figs. 5, 6, and 7 that as-the detents 33 move upwardly from the retracted position of Fig. 6 to the closure engaging position of Figs. 5

. and 7, engagement with the inclined surfaces 36 produces a force tending to hold the cover in engagement with the surfaces 5'! of bosses 32. This force is in the same direction as the force of gravity tending to hold the cover |2 on the surfaces 51 before the detents 33 are moved toward the closure engaging position. The cover I2 is accurately positioned simply by resting it upon the bosses 32 and is held in this position by v -of the cover |2 resting upon the tops of loops 59, as indicated in Fig. 4. The cover I2 is moved toward the front ring |9 guided by the loops 59 until shoulders 6| of boss receiving openings 52 engage the bosses 32. The cover I2 is then in the position indicated in Fig. 3. The distance between the point where the forward curved end of the top surface 51 merges with the forward edges of the boss 32 and the top of the curved loop 59 of sleigh I9 is indicated by the arrows marked A in Fig. 2. The distance between the shoulder 6| in the top of boss receiving opening 62 and the shoulder at the side of cover I2 is indicated by the arrows marked B in Fig. 2.

' The distance A is approximately equal to or loops 59 of the sleighs l8. When the cover I2 is in position with its back plate 39 in engagement with the dust bag ring gasket 30, the detents 33 are in line with the pockets 34 of the bosses 32. Further movement of the hand grasping the cover handle 40 in the same direction in which it is moved in carrying the cover l2 toward the front ring |9 will move the detents 33 from the retracted position indicated in Fig. 6 to the closure engaging position of Fig. 7. As the detents 33 move from the position of Fig. 6 to the position of Fig. 7, the dust bag ring gasket 331s compressed and the cover I2 is held in position with the shoulders 5| of the boss receiving openings 62 in engagement with the surfaces 51 of the bosses 32. When the cover I2 is secured to the cleaning unit, it is in the position indicated in Figs. 2 and 10. In this position the shoulders 50 are spaced from the tops of the loops 59 of the sleighs 3.

To remove the cover l2, the cover handle 40 is grasped with the hand and moved in a direc-: tion away from the cleaning unit. This movement of the cover handle 40 moves the detents 33 from the closure'engagement position of Fig. 7 to the retracted position of Fig. 6. After the detents 33 become disengaged from the bosses 32, the cover l2 may be removed from the cleaning unit by a continuation of the movement of the hand grasping the handle 40 in the same direction in which it is moved initially to disengage the detents 33. The loops 59 serve to guide the cover l2 in its movement away from the cleaner unit so that it may not be moved at an angle to the bosses 32 which might damage them.

While in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the loops 59 of the sleighs l8 are utilized for guiding the cover l2 upon its replacement on or removal from the cleaning unit, obviously the same result may be accomplished by using projections separate from the sleighs l8 secured to and extending forwardly from the casing What I claim is:

1. In a vacuum cleaner, an open ended casing, a member secured to said casing having an opening communicating with said-casing, a removable cover for said opening, said member and said cover having cooperating projections and openings to receive the projections, guiding means secured to said member at one side of the opening slidably engaging said cover upon movement of said cover toward said member'to direct said projections to said openings for engagement of the wall of each opening with the side of a corresponding projection and cooperating camming surfaces between the wall of said opening and the side of said projection serving to separate said guiding means upon final closing movement of said cover.

2. In combination, a casing,-a ring secured to one end of the casing having an opening and bosses extending therefrom at opposite sides of the opening thereof, a pair of spaced projections on said ring extending beyond the end of said casing and said ring, and a closure member for the opening of said ring having inclined sides extending between said projections and adjacent outwardly extending shoulders slidably engaging said projections, said cover having openings to receive said bosses, said shoulders and projections cooperating to guide the bosses into engagement in the opening of said cover during 'closing movement of the cover.

3. In combination, a casing, aring secured to said casing and forming an opening for said casing, projections forwardly extending from the sides of said ring having flat tops, a removable cover for said opening having openings adapted to register with said projections with shoulders in engagement with the tops of said projections, and upwardly curved guide means engaging shoulders on the bottom of said cover for directing the shoulders of said openings to the top surface of said projections.

4. In combination, a casing, a ring secured to said casing forming an opening for said casing, projections from said casing having top surfaces curved upwardly to plane surfaces adjacent said ring, a cover for said opening having side openings with shoulders adapted to engage the top surfaces of said projections for positioning said cover, and guide means secured to said ring for engaging the bottom of said cover to direct it upwardly to engagement with the top surfaces of said projections.

5. In combination, a casing, a ring secured .to said casing forming an opening for said casing, projections from said ring having top surfaces curved upwardly to plane surfaces adjacent said ring, a cover for said opening adapted to engage said projections for positioning said cover, and means secured to said casing and having forward surfaces curved upwardly toward said ring for guiding said cover into engagement with said projections.

6. In combination, a casing, a ring secured to said casing forming an opening for said casing, projections from said ring having top surfaces curved upwardly from the forward end to plane surfaces adjacent said ring, a cover for said opening having openings with flat top shoulders for engaging the 'top surfaces of said projections and having shoulders at opposite bottom sides,

and means curved upwardly and secured to said ring, the distance between the top of said means and the forward edge of said top surfaces of said projections being equal to the distance between opposite sides of the opening, said cover having openings to receive said bosses andposition said cover on said casing, and a pair of spaced guide members secured to said casing below said bosses and extending outwardly andcurved downwardly from the bosses, said cover having shoulders slidably engaging 'said guide members for, moving the cover upwardly and guiding the bosses into the openings during closing movement of the cover.

GUSTAF EINAR LOFGREN. 

